Matthew 17-18

Matthew 17-18New American Standard Bible (NASB)

The Transfiguration

17 Six days later Jesus *took with Him Peter and [a]James and John his brother, and *led them up on a high mountain by themselves.2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three [b]tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!”6 When the disciples heard this, they fell [c]face down to the ground and were terrified.7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”10 And His disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”11 And He answered and said, “Elijah is coming and will restore all things;12 but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did [d]to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer [e]at their hands.”13 Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist.

The Demoniac

14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying,15 “[f]Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a [g]lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.16 I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.”17 And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”18 And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured [h]at once.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?”20 And He *said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith [i]the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.21 [[j]But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”]

22 And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be [k]delivered into the hands of men;23 and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.

The Tribute Money

24 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the [l]two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the [m]two-drachma tax?”25 He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?”26 When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are [n]exempt.27 However, so that we do not [o]offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find [p]a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

Rank in the Kingdom

18 At that [q]time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”2 And He called a child to Himself and set him [r]before them,3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you [s]are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it [t]would be better for him to have a [u]heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than [v]to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than [w]to have two eyes and be cast into the [x]fiery hell.

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.11 [[y]For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

Ninety-nine Plus One

12 “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?13 If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.14 So it is not the will [z]of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Discipline and Prayer

15 “If your brother sins[aa], go and [ab]show him his fault [ac]in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.16 But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every[ad]fact may be confirmed.17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as [ae]a Gentile and [af]a tax collector.18 Truly I say to you, whatever you [ag]bind on earth [ah]shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you [ai]loose on earth [aj]shall have been loosed in heaven.

19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them [ak]by My Father who is in heaven.20 For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

Forgiveness

21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven [al]may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.24 When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him [am]ten thousand talents was brought to him.25 But since he [an]did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.26 So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’27 And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the [ao]debt.28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred [ap]denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’29 So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’30 But he was unwilling [aq]and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.32 Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from [ar]your heart.”

Share

Step 1 - Create an account or log in to start your free trial.

Starting your free trial of Bible Gateway Plus is easy. You’re already logged in with your Bible Gateway account. The next step is to enter your payment information. Your credit card won’t be charged until the trial period is over. You can cancel anytime during the trial period.

Already Subscribed

Here's how to get the most out of Bible Gateway

Upgrade, and get the most out of your new account. An integrated digital Bible study library - including complete notes from the NIV Study Bible and the NKJV MacArthur Study Bible - is just a step away! Try it free for 30 days.